Icarsoft MB II as an accurate diagnostic tool

[Neil7355]

I have just purchased a Icarsoft MB II scanner for my 2012 E Class Coupe (C207). I know this is not as good as a professional Mercedes STAR diagnostic tool, however, I would like to know from members their views on how accurate the Icarsoft scanner is.

The reason I ask is that before I purchased the scanner I had no problems showing on my cockpit display, however, when I did my first diagnostic scan several control modules showed error codes such as Steering Col mod – “Steering wheel gearshift button + has a problem” – which appear to have nothing wrong with them. I have no problems with my gearshift paddles on the wheel. Some error codes -i.e. “Temp Sensor – Right footwell vent has a malfunction. There is a short circuit to positive or negative” I would never have known I had without the scanner as there is no perceivable problem associated with it as far as I can tell.

So….Does the Icarsoft MB II diagnose and report accurate faults ?

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome,

Could be "historic" issues, clear them and see what comes back

 

[MinionBob]

I think MB scanner faults are classed as 'current' or 'stored' and 'current and stored', which in English translates to 'happening right now', 'has happened in the past' and 'happening now and has happened in the past'.

So they can show you problems that do not exist because they have been fixed, but not cleared as Blobcat has noted.

 

[joderest]

I have used one on my ML270 for a few years, it does clear fault codes which are stored, and reads most of the modules, but not all, sometimes it states "cannot communicate" .
It was very useful sorting out a parking sensor fault, and a battery charging issue, it also diagnosed an issue on wifes Mini in OBD, so it has paid for itself.
I am a bit computer "daft" so have never updated it.
If i were to buy another i would opt for the "pro" that reads all vehicles, not a dedicated scanner.

 

[MinionBob]

I thought they only stated 'cannot communicate' when they were trying to communicate with a module on your car that does not exist? By default I have assumed they try to communicate with all modules, but many are optional extras?

 

[joderest]

No, car does have an AAM, but cannot communicate with it, wanted to look at heater servo's, but could not.

 

[Donald McPherson]

Such a shame the Icarsoft I bought only does Mercedes. I have a ABS light on in my cheap Fiat Punto and it does not work.

 

[joderest]

yep, the icarsoft mb2 will only access the engine ecu on other cars, and ABS is a different module.
Hence why i would buy the CR PRO if i were to get another

 

[AnthonyUK]

Such a shame the Icarsoft I bought only does Mercedes. I have a ABS light on in my cheap Fiat Punto and it does not work.

You could try the Carista solution which is relatively low cost. The device is £20 and you can add vehicles using an in-app purchase if they are supported.

Car diagnostics and coding made simple | Carista OBD2 & App

Unlock the potential of your car. Diagnose & reset fault codes. Enable hidden features. Perform service procedures. Track parameters in real time.

caristaapp.com

 

[Richard Moakes]

yep, the icarsoft mb2 will only access the engine ecu on other cars, and ABS is a different module.
Hence why i would buy the CR PRO if i were to get another

I have the CR Pro and can highly recommend it

 

[Botus]

scan tools usually behave better when running the latest update - if you bought it new I wouldn't even attempt to connect to any car until you applied all the software patches / updates files (call it what you will) first. if you have an old steady eddie you know is OK with cars of a certain vintage then great - but then they often can't communicate with later cars.

diagnostics is a big expensive minefield - roughly something like this

FIRST there's the level to which the device can communicate (with some overlap of each bucket - depending upon the tool and its software)
1) read faults,
2) read and clear faults,
3) read, clear faults and alter settings (alter - often referred to as coding)
4) read, clear faults, alter settings, add toys
5) read, clear faults, alter settings, add toys, write new software

SECOND what parts of the vehicle they support
1) drivetrain (engine and gearbox)
2) DPF
3) brakes and stability systems
4) electronic handbrake
5) service reset
6) body control system
7) ADAS
8) heating ventilation
9) entertainment
10) instrument cluster

THIRD which cars
1) single brand
2) certain brands
3) many common brands in my region
4) many brands, incl Japan, Korea, Europe, America

FORTH software updates
1) fixed budget cheapy
2) free for life, (they aren't mugs it will have basic stuff for the range of cars that were about at the time you bought the tool)
3) paid updates for the life time of the product, can be a few hundred to many thousands a year. Now cars went to a new protocol even last years £6k tool is redundant for the current crop of cars - see below)

FIVE noddy support
1) nothing just a list of manu fault code that means nothing to anybody
2) a list of what the hell it all means and what to check (often accessible on paid updates on the internet)
3) online database of like minded confused mechanics offering advice
4) full on painting by numbers how to fix all of it... and this is the bit single dealer tools do very well... AKA STAR

In the autel range they seem to have stopped below the 600 quid mark supporting BMW or Merc after 2012 - gave up with Vauxhall at 2015, did Ford to 2019 and VAG to 2020 ???? all rather peculiar

And on the 3 to 4k snap-on stuff they don't do entertainment stuff - but I can code SAMs and Fuel injectors

If I was starting out today I'd get this https://www.autel.com/c/www/mk3/3524.jhtml will do any software update on a Merc, BMW, JLR etc. but only for 12 months then you need to hand over £1200... on top of the 4k you paid for it - but to get half that capability 9 years ago it would have cost you 30K so its better faster and massively cheaper

the list of ways to communicate to what module on what car is not a standard - its a hideous mix of confusion and complexity and the latest bunch of cars just leapt in to the new era with DoIP. Many tools take sort cuts with cheap chip sets and get part way there. The tool in my link above can do all these properly....

DoIP, PLC J2497, ISO-15765, SAE-J1939, ISO-14229 UDS, SAE-J2411 Single Wire Can(GMLAN), ISO-11897-2, ISO-11897-3, SAE-J2819 (TP20), TP16, ISO-9141, ISO-14230, SAE-J2610 (Chysler SCI), UART Echo Byte, SAE-J2809 (Honda Diag-H), SAE-J2740 (GM ALDL), SAE-J1567 (CCD BUS), Ford UBP, Nissan DDL UART with Clock, BMW DS2, BMW DS1, SAE J2819 (VAG KW81), KW82, SAE J1708, SAE-J1850 PWM (Ford SCP), SAE-J1850 VPW (GM Class2)

There's a very expensive diagnostic tool all the posh BMW nerd bikers swear by.... and until they did some collaboration with a bloke building a budget phone app - they never knew how to communicate with the vehicles correctly. Hence some options weren't on their £800 tool that were on a £38 quid phone app. And because of this their early tools are redundant for bikes past 2016 and the current tool had two massive firmware updates to learn to talk properly

 

[Neil7355]

Hello and welcome,

Could be "historic" issues, clear them and see what comes back

Thanks Bobcat. I have cleared them, rescanned, and they no longer appear as a fault